Best "large" calibers for shorter barrels?

[OnCall605]

.458 WM, .45-70, .444 Rem, .425 Westley Richards, .416 Taylor .375 H&H, and .350 Rem Mag. there are a few more but this should suffice. Cheers

Yep, except that zero of those calibers will work with the suppressor I have.

 

[jsmitt6]

Sound like those bullets opened up just fine and good accuracy for you.

Correct. The 150 ABLRs have been the easiest to load for in any rifle I've loaded for.

 

[436]

Yep, except that zero of those calibers will work with the suppressor I have.

True, I shot right past it and started from the tile, that'll teach me. Cheers

 

[OnCall605]

True, I shot right past it and started from the tile, that'll teach me. Cheers

Oh it's ok. I just figured you were participating in the banter since I stated "large calibers" followed by saying I was looking at a 6.8 Western. Man I wish I could have a mulligan on that post. Might never live it down. LOL!!

 

[Mike D Texas]

Correct. The 150 ABLRs have been the easiest to load for in any rifle I've loaded for.

I'd love to know your secret. What cartridge?

 

[jsmitt6]

I'd love to know your secret. What cartridge?

Shooting out of a 270 sherman shortmag. Honestly was as easy as load a ladder test for pressure, from 55 grains to 59.5 grains in .5-1 grain increments. Once I hit pressure at 59 grains, I backed down to 58, loaded 5 up and shot them at 100 yards. Easily the best group of my life at .35" at 100 yards. I am not an expert reloader, not an expert marksman/shooter by any means.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Shooting out of a 270 sherman shortmag. Honestly was as easy as load a ladder test for pressure, from 55 grains to 59.6 grains in .5-1 grain increments. Once I hit pressure at 59 grains, I backed down to 58, loaded 5 up and shot them at 100 yards. Easily the best group of my life at .35" at 100 yards. I am not expert reloader, not an expert marksman/shooter by any means.

I only have 1 gun that shoots them that easily. I've tried them in 4 other cartridges and groups vary from 1.5" up to 3.5".

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

Any chance you get a larger suppressor? I have a .375 RUM with a 22" barrel. It slings 281 grain hammer 2900 fps.

 

[codyadams]

Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience. Here is a question, if I were to go with a factory rifle option such as a Fierce or something similar....knowing up front that the action length and twist will be somewhat of a limiting factor if looking at a .300 WSM, would you still recommend the .300 WSM or would you lean a different way? Fierce in particular offers it in a 9 twist and 20" barrel.

I do own a couple of custom rifles in larger calibers, but they have 24 and 26" barrels. I'm not sure that I'm ready to dish out the kind of money it'll take to start out with a short barrel custom this time around. Ideally, I'd like to keep the gun around $2,500 or under and putting some nice glass on it.

Factory guns make it hard for a 20" gun, there aren't many in magnum calibers. A 20" sammi spec 300 wsm would still be adequate for what your wanting to do, I just personally am not a big fan of fierce. But as long as you didn't get a lemon, it could do what you want it to.

 

[Damage Inc.]

My 17" Montucky .300 WSM would run 208s at 2700ish and 155s at 3050 (suppressed). That roughly equates to 22" .30/06ish performance.

That rifle was bitchin'… and with the can attached, it was roughly the same length and weight as a my 23" R700 KS stocked 7 Mag.

 

[sable tireur]

Any chance you get a larger suppressor? I have a .375 RUM with a 22" barrel. It slings 281 grain hammer 2900 fps.

DT .375 Suppressor


The DT .375 suppressor was created to be compatible with the Desert Tech .375 rifle. Built with Elite Iron's exacting standards you can expect unparalleled performance and sound reduction with this suppressor on your rifle. Threads allow attachment to existing muzzle break. The DT .375 is part of the WindTalker family of suppressors. An accessory muzzle brake can be purchased separately to adapt this suppressor to other .375 caliber rifles for $260.
Thread pitch M22x1.5
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All models have 100% repeatability.

https://eliteiron.com/product/dt-375-suppressor/

 

[waveslayer]

I have two short barrels to run a can, 1st is a 22" .338 Norma AI, which is super fun to play with and the second is a 20" 6.5 SAUM. I think a 7 or 6.5 SAUM is the sweet spot. I do like AI chamberings so you have the ability to run "normal" rounds and AI rounds. I actually work up two loads for each barrel so I don't waste barrels and powder on fireforming.

Good luck.

 

[memtb]

Oh it's ok. I just figured you were participating in the banter since I stated "large calibers" followed by saying I was looking at a 6.8 Western. Man I wish I could have a mulligan on that post. Might never live it down. LOL!!

It could be much worse, you could've considered the 6.5 Needmore as a large caliber…..as some on this site do! memtb

 

[sable tireur]

I think a 7 or 6.5 SAUM is the sweet spot.

Agreed.

I have found that the WSM case works well with some lighter and the heavier bullets. The 6.5 WSM can and does handle the Hammer Heavy Hunter 121 gr. as well as the 124 Hammer Hunter.

I have also found that the 156 Berger and the 153 A-Tip are really excellent to shoot. These are all 21" barrels w/o suppressor.

Enjoy!